Funding Push Needed In AIDS Fight

In 2015, we reached a milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS when the World Health Organization noted that 15 million people were on AIDS treatment in July. That number comes very short, however of ending the disease in 2030, as a new United Nations goal sets out. According to AIDS activists and analysts at HealthGAP in New York, to get to the end of AIDS in 2030, we need to double the number of people on treatment by 2020.

This is where the U.S. comes in. The single largest bilateral AIDS program is the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The program is about $4 billion in U.S. foreign aid used to fight AIDS in countries around the world. Sadly, this program has faced cuts since 2010.

This year, we need U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and other appropriators to stand up and fight for an increased budget for fiscal year 2017 of at least 7 percent for this lifesaving AIDS program, at least if we hope to end the epidemic by 2030.